Steven "jamie" showers
[email protected]
510-427-8721
My interest in art and painting is an expression of my fascination with the cosmos and the seeming infinity of light, colors, shapes, and patterns around us and within us. Growing up in San Francisco, I had the chance to enjoy many cultures and lifestyles that showed the broad expression of human understanding and values. All of these have influenced me. I also recognize both the poetry of William Blake and Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone” for opening my doors of perception from a young age. And there is the influence of my friends and family, especially my children whose growth provided a mirror of my own journey in life.
My main academic training has been in the fields of English and biology and history, and for more than four decades I taught a wide variety of high school classes, from Honors English and Shakespeare and Science Fiction to AP Biology, Aeronautics, and Physics. The uniting factor for all of these courses has been my wonder at the variety in the universe and in people.
I work principally with watercolors which I took up in earnest after I retired. Their translucent quality coaxes the imagination to see and feel that which might only be suggested by the piece. However, in contrast with many who use watercolor, I am attracted to vibrant, rich colors perhaps more common to acrylics and oils. But layers of color are possible with watercolors, so I remain focused on these and the effects they can produce.
I have had the good fortune to have works honored with awards at the Dorothy Indelicato Fine Arts Show, the Mother Lode Art Association Fine Arts Show, The Valley Arts Association, and the Annual Art in the Redwoods Exhibition at the at the Gualala Arts Center on the Mendocino Coast. I have also had a piece published by the Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock.
As for styles, I tend toward impressionism and cubism but have explored many different modes from abstract to realism. Each time I go to a gallery and see what other artists have done, I am fascinated by their choices and the apparent courage it takes to express their visions. Each stroke of a brush, next tile in a mosaic, or new thread in a fabric is a step into the unknown which will change the shape of the piece and leave behind a thousand other choices that could have been made, yet the path then appears for the next possible steps and beyond.
Since our time is finite and we can not do everything we imagine, these changes can be daunting as we pour hours, days, weeks and months into a piece. Will it turn out as we envisioned? Will it meet our own internal criteria of what we wanted to accomplish? Will that part of our lives that we devoted to it please us in the end? These steps perhaps take some fortitude since all the choices are on us. Perhaps that is the greatest gift to the artist, since each piece is our own world to construct. So it would seem that as we place our pieces before you, we are saying “Welcome to my universe. Perhaps you will find yourself here too.”
My friends call me Jamie or Steve.
My main academic training has been in the fields of English and biology and history, and for more than four decades I taught a wide variety of high school classes, from Honors English and Shakespeare and Science Fiction to AP Biology, Aeronautics, and Physics. The uniting factor for all of these courses has been my wonder at the variety in the universe and in people.
I work principally with watercolors which I took up in earnest after I retired. Their translucent quality coaxes the imagination to see and feel that which might only be suggested by the piece. However, in contrast with many who use watercolor, I am attracted to vibrant, rich colors perhaps more common to acrylics and oils. But layers of color are possible with watercolors, so I remain focused on these and the effects they can produce.
I have had the good fortune to have works honored with awards at the Dorothy Indelicato Fine Arts Show, the Mother Lode Art Association Fine Arts Show, The Valley Arts Association, and the Annual Art in the Redwoods Exhibition at the at the Gualala Arts Center on the Mendocino Coast. I have also had a piece published by the Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock.
As for styles, I tend toward impressionism and cubism but have explored many different modes from abstract to realism. Each time I go to a gallery and see what other artists have done, I am fascinated by their choices and the apparent courage it takes to express their visions. Each stroke of a brush, next tile in a mosaic, or new thread in a fabric is a step into the unknown which will change the shape of the piece and leave behind a thousand other choices that could have been made, yet the path then appears for the next possible steps and beyond.
Since our time is finite and we can not do everything we imagine, these changes can be daunting as we pour hours, days, weeks and months into a piece. Will it turn out as we envisioned? Will it meet our own internal criteria of what we wanted to accomplish? Will that part of our lives that we devoted to it please us in the end? These steps perhaps take some fortitude since all the choices are on us. Perhaps that is the greatest gift to the artist, since each piece is our own world to construct. So it would seem that as we place our pieces before you, we are saying “Welcome to my universe. Perhaps you will find yourself here too.”
My friends call me Jamie or Steve.
Click to enlarge. Please note these painting may have already SOLD. These are examples of Jamie's work.
